AP Moller Maersk has taken delivery of the world’s first containership operating on green methanol.

MAN Primeserv has inked an agreement with Seaspan and Hapag-Lloyd for the conversion of 15 fuel oil-powered container ship engines to enable operation on methanol.

Methanol as fuel is proving an attractive option for owners and operators, with 26 ships already in operation and a further 130 on order, according to latest figures from DNV.

Interest in methanol as a ship’s fuel is rising sharply with 29 vessels already in operation and 112 on order, according to Lloyd’s Register (LR) marine fuels expert Douglas Raitt.

AP Moller - Maersk has secured green bio-methanol for the maiden voyage of its first methanol-powered containership.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, will be the godmother Maersk’s new green methanol-powered feeder vessel.

CSSC Huangpu-Wenchong Shipbuilding has announced an order six plus two 1,250 teu methanol-fuelled open top containerships order from Singapore owner X-Press Feeders.

The pricing difference to conventional fuels is the biggest challenge facing the adoption of greener fuels by shipping companies, according to the chief of MISC’s shipmanagement company Eaglestar.

Damen Shipyards and Boluda Towage are planning to launch the first methanol-powered tugboat newbuilding in Europe.

The largest ferry company operating on the Irish Sea, Stena Line, is to boost capacity with two new ro-ro ferries operating on methanol.